Wu Suo Wei stared at the classroom whiteboard, eyes glazed over.
He wasn't usually this distracted, especially not during lectures. But today, he was completely somewhere else–somewhere with tangled sheets, hushed mornings, and a hand that casually brushed his under the blanket like it meant nothing.
Chi Cheng said he was staying in the big room from now on.
It was the second night they'd shared a bed, and Wu Suo Wei hadn't gotten much sleep. Not because Chi Cheng did anything — he didn't. He just existed. Next to him. Close. Breathing.
That alone was enough to make Suo Wei's brain short-circuit.
"Da Bao."
His pen slipped from his fingers. "H-Huh?!"
Jiang Xiao Shuai was leaning on the edge of his desk, arms crossed, smirking.
"I called you three times. What's with you lately?" he asked, voice teasing. "Thinking about Chi Cheng again?"
Suo Wei's face flamed. "N-No!"
Xiao Shuai raised an eyebrow. "You're a terrible liar. You're even blushing."
"I always blush!" Suo Wei hissed quietly, slumping lower in his seat like a melting dumpling.
Before Xiao Shuai could press further, the classroom door creaked open and in strolled Guo Cheng Yu, sipping bubble tea like he was on a fashion runway.
"Wei Wei~" he sang softly, sliding into the seat beside them. "Still looking as bite-sized and edible as ever."
Suo Wei immediately tried to become one with the chair.
Jiang Xiao Shuai rolled his eyes. "You're such a menace."
"I call it charm," Cheng Yu winked, then turned to Suo Wei. "So, what'd you do all weekend? Thought you'd be online."
"Ah, I was just… helping my mom pack up," Suo Wei said quickly. "She came to visit. Didn't stay long."
Jiang Xiao Shuai nodded. "That's right, you mentioned it. Did she stay at a hotel or something?"
"Y-Yeah! The one near the train station," Suo Wei lied smoothly – or as smoothly as someone could while fidgeting with their sleeves and avoiding eye contact.
Cheng Yu raised a brow. "She didn't stay at your dorm?"
Suo Wei blinked. "She… doesn't like crowded student areas."
Jiang Xiao Shuai squinted. "But your dorm is empty. You don't have a roommate, right?"
Suo Wei's soul left his body for a second.
Just then... salvation.
Chi Cheng walked past their open classroom door, towel slung around his neck from practice, clearly heading somewhere else but—
He stopped.
Backed up.
And leaned in through the open frame.
"Da Bao," he said casually, "you left your charger in my bag."
Suo Wei looked like he was going to die on the spot.
Xiao Shuai froze.
Cheng Yu narrowed his eyes.
"Your bag?" Jiang asked slowly.
Chi Cheng blinked. "Yeah. He came over. We studied last night."
"At your place?"
"Mm." Chi Cheng tossed the charger in, landing it perfectly on Suo Wei's lap. "He fell asleep before we finished the physics review."
"You didn't say anything about studying with him," Xiao Shuai said, staring at Suo Wei.
Suo Wei laughed nervously. "I–It was a last-minute thing…"
Cheng Yu leaned in, chin on his hand, lips curled. "Studying, huh? That's what we're calling it now?"
Chi Cheng's gaze flicked toward him, unbothered. "We're efficient."
Suo Wei had gone fully pink.
"Anyway," Chi Cheng said, turning to leave, "don't forget tonight. You promised to cook."
"C-Cook?" Suo Wei echoed weakly.
"Mm," Chi Cheng nodded. "You said you'd make tomato and egg stir-fry."
"I did?"
"You did now."
With that, Chi Cheng walked off like he hadn't just dropped twenty red flags into enemy territory.
There was a beat of silence.
Then Cheng Yu slowly turned his head. "Since when do you cook for Chi Cheng?"
"I-It's just–he helped with my physics notes! So I said I'd return the favor–! It's not–we don't–it's not like that!"
Jiang Xiao Shuai crossed his arms, eyeing Suo Wei suspiciously. "Right…"
Cheng Yu chuckled, tapping the desk rhythmically. "Interesting."
Suo Wei wanted to evaporate.
That night, back at the apartment, Suo Wei collapsed onto the bed the moment he stepped into the room.
"You almost blew our cover," he groaned.
Chi Cheng leaned on the doorframe, smirking. "Relax. You did fine."
"They're going to find out."
"Then we'll lie better."
"You're so annoying."
Chi Cheng walked over, dropping his bag and sitting beside Suo Wei on the bed. "Still making tomato and egg?"
"… I guess."
"You're sleeping on this bed tonight, right?"
Suo Wei hesitated. "Shouldn't you go back to the small room now that our moms are gone?"
Chi Cheng raised an eyebrow. "Nah."
"…Why?"
"I paid rent for half the bed."
"That's not—!" Suo Wei sat up, red in the face. "That's not how it works!"
Chi Cheng shrugged coolly, already fluffing his pillow. "It does now. Besides, you steal fewer blankets when I'm here."
Suo Wei sputtered. "You–! I don't–!"
"You do."
Suo Wei turned his face to the wall, flustered beyond repair.
Behind him, Chi Cheng smiled.
They still had to keep their secret.
But for now, sharing the same bed didn't feel so forbidden anymore.
It just felt… right.